“Why The Heck is My Cat Doing That?”

Raise your hand if you have cat. Now keep your hand up if your cat does some wackadoodle things. Still raised? Well keep reading…because we are going to answer some burning questions you may have about your cat’s silly behavior!

Goofy antic #1: Why in the heck do cats like sitting in boxes?! That’s a great question! The short answer is that boxes provide two things for predatory kitties: security, and a good vantage point. Basically, cats want to rest (all day basically), but they also want to feel protected while they are still able to survey their surroundings. Studies have actually been done to test what kind of box does the trick for the average cat, and they showed that most cats prefer an upside down box with holes cut in the side. This provides a secure lookout point, and also a perch for the cat to sit on top of when they are feeling more confident. The other side of this coin is that cats just love to explore! When a box (or anything new) is introduced to their environment, their first instinct is usually to go, sniff, and sit.

Burning question #2: Does my cat love me? Or is it just hungry? Honestly, I feel like a lot of parents ask this about their kids… The cool thing about cats, however, is that they actually perform some behaviors which are specifically designed to show affection. Behaviors such as head butting and licking their human are both behaviors that reinforce friendship (which is pretty darn adorable)! While evolution has seen to the fact that cats are naturally territorial animals, and thus tend to bond closely with their environment rather than other living creatures, they can (and do) form close relationships with those sharing their space. At the end of the day though, its important to remember that food is a positive thing, and thus, pairing yourself with the presence of food reinforces positive feelings from your kitty!

Quizzical Query #3: Why oh why does my cat do zoomies at 3 am? As a fosterer of many many kittens, I have asked myself this question oh so many times! Unfortunately, there may be no cure, because cats really like doing this! Today’s domesticated cats are descendants of the African Wild Cat, which is (to our dismay) nocturnal. In addition, our domesticated kitties have wildly adjustable sleeping patterns, and tend to take several shorter naps rather than sleeping through the night like we do. The best solution here is to have a great interactive play session with your kitty before bedtime. This way, they’ll be as tired as possible, and mayyyy let you sleep until at least 4 am!

Wacky wonder #4: What in the world makes a cat purr? And what does it mean? Purring is a sound created by muscles on a cat’s vocal cords, making them rattle together. Cat behaviorists actually say that there are three kinds of purrs, one of which is quite common, and the other two are not. Mostly, when cats purr, they are contently sitting next to you, and you may or may not be petting them. The contentedness comes more from the fact that things are still, and your attention is on them, rather than the emotion of happiness (although that’s just semantics if you ask me!). The second kind of purr is more of a whining sound, and generally means hunger. Essentially, your cat is still saying “pay attention to me”, but their angle is a bit more specific. The third kind of purr is a distress sound. This is not heard as often, and again, has a similar meaning of “I need you to pay attention to me now”.

So there ya have it! Four mystifying feline mysteries solved, just like that. If your cat does anything weirder than that, hats off to you. Tune in with comments, and we’ll figure out the reason together!